Who Is and Isn't Allowed to Celebrate the Solstice? An Opinion Piece....



Trinity Hall, Cambridge announced its summer holiday event back in January and unfortunately it stirred up one (read that: one) very angry Wiccan student who took to the internet and her campus' newspaper to rant about it.

Georgia Humphrey, who is also an officer of her local LGBT+ group, made this claim:
 the decision to host this year’s May Ball on the eve of the solstice is “offensive” and “gross” because it coincides with a pagan festival.

She goes on to state via Social Media:  “I’m wiccan, which is a branch of paganism. We, along with most other branches of paganism (druids, satanists, hedge witches etc) celebrate the solstices every year and are usually the ones hanging out at stonehenge every year in crazy robes and stuff.

“I think it’s pretty grim to use any religion’s festivals as an excuse for a bunch of students to get drunk.”



I wonder if Miss Humphrey is aware that most, if not all, early Pagan festivities were mostly about getting drunk, rowdy, and sexually active? Especially in the summer months. And it should be noted that Solstice festivities were not limited to the pagan tribes of Northern Europe either, many cultures around the world have celebrated and observed the Solstices - Miss Humphrey (and any other Wiccan for that matter) really has no claim to the astronomical event.

So who does?

The short answer: Everyone. 

The long answer:



Midsummer, also known in some parts of the world as St. John's Day, is a segment of time around the Summer Solstice - when the sun reaches its highest zenith of the year and we experience the longest period of daylight hours. Midsummer-related celebrations predate Christianity and have had an important role in the early peoples of Northern Europe and the UK. Many of the traditions commonly associated with observing the Solstice come from these early peoples.

Bonfires, feasting, singing, and dancing are popular activities during these festivals.

Ancient Rome had its own holiday on June 20 that honored the god Summanus, though it is unclear if this celebration had anything to do with the Solstice itself.

In Christianity, the idea of the Midsummer celebration was co-opted at St. John's Day and usually falls exactly six months before Christmas, as it was said that John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus. St. John's Day is observed today in various parts of Europe and Latin America.

Tirgan is an ancient Iranian tradition still celebrated in some parts of Iran and is often observed in the early part of July. You can read more about it here.



Russia has many fertility and purification rites associated with this holiday, involving nude bathing, jumping over bonfires, and fortune telling by way of floating flower garlands in water and divining their movements as good or bad omens.

An ancient sun religion called Tengrism (which was later driven out of a Russia by Catholicism and the Communist party) observed the solstice by tying a horse to a pole and circle dancing around it.

The indigenous peoples of the Americas may also have their own unique and varied Solstice traditions.



Neo-pagans (like Miss Humphrey) often pull from several different traditions and have their own names for the Solstice. Neo-druids often refer to it as Alban Hefin and many Wiccans call it Litha.

So....everyone. 

As a practicing witch myself, I only loosely associate with paganism. I don't follow or worship any deities. I don't pull bits of my practice from traditions that contain a lot of bizarre dogma (like Wicca) either. And I certainly don't appropriate from closed traditions (like Voodoo or Santeria). But celebrations like the Solstices and Equinoxes are for everyone, because every single person on this earth is able to bear witness to the magnitude that is our astronomical reality. Every human on this earth owes their very being to the fact that we have a star that supports life on this planet and that we exist in just the right span of time where life on earth is still viable.

That's a beautiful, magical, and incredibly large thing. So when the sun reaches its zenith in the sky on June 21st, thank your maker (or sheer luck, if you're like me!) that you're here and that you're alive.

Comments

  1. This is a great post with some excellent points. I've always thought that celebrations of any kind were a time to be more inclusive.

    Kathrin | Polar Bear Style

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  2. First of, your blog name is beautiful! I love it ;) Wow this post is deep! I agree that everyone of us has a star that supports life and us in particular in our everyday activities. Those stars shine bright for us, not just illuminating the earth, but as a celebration of the beauty of life! :) I am always grateful to be alive!

    Carina
    http://theagelessmillennial.com/

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  3. I am not really keen on the celebration itself, but I dont mind celebrating anything as well...
    you know what I mean...
    thank you for sharing...
    https://sepatuholig.blogspot.com/
    IG @grace_njio

    ReplyDelete

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